For 62 years, Tom Clark was the man behind Park News, a landmark shop in downtown Taunton and a go-to source for a broad range of print media.

“I loved my business,” said Clark, during an interview at his Taunton home on Wednesday. “We never got rich there, but we always made a good living. I always loved my business. It kept me coming back every day. Meeting people every day was the best part.”

Clark and his family sold Park News to new ownership last week, leaving a store that provided newspapers, magazines, lottery tickets, snacks and cigars to generations of Taunton residents.

Clark sold Park News once he became too ill to continue running the shop, after developing bone cancer. Park News will remain open, retaining its name and business model, according to the new owner, who was a regular customer of the store.

Clark started the business at the tender age of 18. Park News was originally located under the marquee of the now extinct Park Theatre — the store’s namesake — before relocating to its present location in 1964, Clark said.

“It was a good location, right next to the theatres and near the old high school,” Clark said. “We got a lot of business from people walking by. My father worked at the old telephone company across the street from the library, and his workers would stop by. There were no parking lots or meters back then. People would just go up and get a paper.”

While national events and local stories were making headlines of the magazines and broadsheets he sold at the store, Park News was a place where Clark and his family were making memories. In fact, Clark met his wife Anna there, when she frequented the store as a nursing student, before he decided to ask her out.

“I started going there when I was in high school, and on the way up to school, we always would go in there, me and my friends,” Anna Clark said. “After I went back in, when I was in nurses training, he asked me out. … Later on, I enjoyed working there. You never could get away from it.”

The new owner of Park News, Jim O’Donnell, pledged to retain the character of the store, which he referred to as “an institution” in Taunton. Although, O’Donnell said, he can’t replace Clark.

“I just hope that I can live up to half the reputation he had,” said O’Donnell, who also owns a pool repair business.

Clark said he met a lot of characters while working the newsstand, and said it was always a treat to see someone return who hasn’t been around in a while.

“The best part is meeting people you see from yesterday, people that used to come in here 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago,” said Clark, who was often called “Clarkie” among pals. “They come from California, they come from Boston. They say, ‘You’re still here?’ … It became a social thing. A lot of laughs. A lot of friendly times. When a lot of crazy guys came in there, it was even better.”